Silencing Science Tracker

Silencing Science Tracker

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The Silencing Science Tracker is a joint initiative of the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law and the Climate Science Legal Defense Fund. It tracks government attempts to restrict or prohibit scientific research, education or discussion, or the publication or use of scientific information, since the November 2016 election. Read more→

A survey of federal government scientists found evidence of political interference in scientific research at USDA. The survey found, among other things, that resources have been shifted away from USDA programs and offices involved in “politically contentious” research.

A survey of FWS scientists found that many have been told not to work on topics deemed “politically contentious” and to omit “politically contentious” words, including “climate change” and “science,” from their reports.

A survey of federal government scientists found evidence of political interference in scientific research at NOAA. The survey found, among other things, that scientists have been told to avoid research linking environmental problems to action by industry.

The White House Office of Management and Budget and Office of Science and Technology Policy jointly released a memorandum outlining the Trump administration’s research and development priorities. Unlike previous versions, issued during the Obama administration, the memorandum does not list climate change as a priority area.

References to “climate change” were removed from the U.S. Agency for International Development’s 2017 Sustainability Report. In a departure from previous versions, the 2017 report no longer lists “climate change adaptation” as a priority, and omits a section discussing “proposed actions” to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) did not discuss climate change in its After Action Report on the 2017 hurricane season. Speaking about the report, FEMA’s Deputy Administrator for Resilience appeared to suggest that climate change is a natural phenomenon, stating “the climate shifts, it changes over time.”

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, removed an online medical guidelines database. The database, known as the National Guideline Clearinghouse, was thought to be the world’s most comprehensive online repository of medical guidelines.

References to “climate change” were removed from the Department of the Treasury’s 2017 Sustainability Report. In a departure from previous versions, the 2017 report no longer lists “climate change resilience” as a goal of the department, and omits discussion of programs aimed at addressing climate change risks.

DOI issued a new media protocol that requires scientists at the U.S. Geological Survey to obtain approval before speaking to journalists. The protocol permits DOI to reject interview requests on scientific matters.

Four Republican Senators requested that the Inspector General of the National Science Foundation (NSF) commence a review of its grant-making process. The Senators allege that NSF has issued several grants in violation of federal law, including one supporting a program intended to educate meteorologists about climate change.

The U.S. Geological Survey, within the Department of the Interior, will require scientists wishing to attend certain conferences to provide their presentation title(s) and an explanation of how their research relates to the priorities of Interior Secretary Zinke. The information will be reviewed by a political appointee, who will determine which scientists can attend each conference.

Since President Trump took office, NASA staff have avoided publishing climate change information online, and discussing the topic on social media. This is reportedly due to self-censorship by career staffers who are concerned about “provoking the [Trump] administration.”

During a hearing on May 16, 2018, several members of the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology misrepresented climate science. Among other things, they incorrectly suggested that human activities are not the primary driver of climate change, and that climate change is not causing sea level rise.

A DOD report discussing how climate change is affecting military bases was edited to remove several references to “climate change” and downplay its impacts. For example, several references to climate change-induced sea level rise and its impact on military bases were removed, as were references to declines in Arctic sea ice.

The DOI’s Bureau of Land Management prevented at least 14 scientists from attending the annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Several of those prevented from attending had been scheduled to speak at a symposium, which had to be cancelled due to the lack of participation by government scientists.

The White House Office of Management and Budget has delayed the release of sustainability reports prepared by at least seven federal agencies under Executive Order 13693 (signed by President Obama in March 2015).

President Trump signed a memorandum directing the EPA Administrator to make changes to certain air pollution programs. The changes have implications for the use of science in developing and implementing air pollution protections.

One DOL advisory board – the Council on Occupational Safety and Health – has been disbanded and four others have had their operations suspended. As of March 2018, the boards had not met in at least nine months.

EPA’s Office of Public Affairs issued a set of approved talking points on climate change. The talking points appear to be intended to cast doubt on the scientific consensus on climate change, with one stating “[w]hile there has been extensive research . . . clear gaps remain,” including in “our understanding of the role of human activity” in contributing to climate change.

DOI revised the charters of twenty-one resource advisory councils responsible for advising the Bureau of Land Management. Under the revised charters, councils are required to “provide recommendations for implementation” of various executive orders and secretarial orders, leading to concerns that they will be put “in a position of implementing an agenda rather than providing solid advice.”

EPA scientists were warned against participating in a survey on scientific integrity within the federal government. An email containing a link to the survey was classified as spam “stemming from an unknown entity” by EPA’s Computer Security Incident Response Center, despite those running the survey providing advance notice to that it would be sent.

As of March 2018, EPA’s Science Advisory Board (SAB) had not met in at least six months, leading to concerns among members that EPA is trying to sideline the board. According to members, ordinarily, the SAB would have multiple interactions (including in-person meetings and teleconferences) during any six month period.

EPA’s National Center for Environmental Research, which distributes grants for research on the effects of chemical exposure, will be eliminated as part of an agency reorganization involving the merger of three research offices.

The Trump administration’s FY2019 budget proposes to reduce funding for NASA by 0.3% (compared to FY2017 levels). Among other things, the budget would eliminate funding for the international space station from 2025, cancel a project to upgrade communications satellites, and terminate five earth sciences research missions.

The Trump administration’s FY2019 budget proposes to cut EPA funding by 33.7% (compared to FY2017 levels), and eliminate a number of the agency’s research and education programs, including the Climate Change Research and Partnership Program and the Environmental Education Program.

The Trump administration’s FY2019 budget proposes to cut USDA funding by 16.4% (compared to FY2017 levels). Under the budget, funding for a number of USDA research programs, including statistical research programs administered by the Economic Research Service, would be reduced or eliminated.

The Trump administration’s FY2019 budget proposes cuts to a number of National Science Foundation (NSF) programs, including a 56% reduction in the NSF account that supports the construction of research platforms and the acquisition of scientific instruments.

The Trump administration’s FY2019 budget proposes to cut funding for DOE by 3.4% (compared to FY2017 levels). Funding for DOE’s innovation arm, the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E), would be eliminated and funding for its Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy cut in half.

The Trump administration’s FY2019 budget proposes to maintain funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) at FY2017 levels, despite imposing additional responsibilities on the NIH, including establishing three new sub-institutes to take over functions currently performed by other HHS offices.

The Trump administration’s FY2019 budget proposes to reduce funding for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration by 20% compared to FY2017 levels. Among other things, the budget would eliminate $273 million in funding for NOAA grant programs, including the National Sea Grant College Program and National Estuarine Research Reserve System.

The White House announced plans to restructure the interagency National Science and Technology Council, which was established in 1993 to coordinate science policy across the federal government. The restructure will be overseen by the Office of Science and Technology Policy, which has requested input from 20 federal agencies.

In an interview on a Nevada television station, EPA Administrator misrepresented climate research indicating that rising temperatures will have widespread negative impacts, suggesting that they could actually be positive.

During an international television appearance, aired on ITV, President Trump misrepresented scientific data regarding climate change. The President made several incorrect statements, including suggesting that global temperatures are not increasing, and sea ice cover is not declining.

During the government shutdown, NOAA temporarily suspended access to a website providing climate change data, while continuing to allow access to several other sites. The climate change website returned to service on January 23, 2018, following the end of the government shutdown.

The House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology announced it was reviewing the involvement of Dr. Linda Birnbaum, the director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, in a study of federal toxics regulation and requested that HHS also commence a review.

Researchers at the National Energy Technology Laboratory were pressured, by DOE officials, to change a report on electric system reliability during extreme weather events. The changes were purportedly intended to bolster the Trump administration’s claims that retention of coal-fired power plants is vital to maintain reliability.

As of December 31, 2017, President Trump had filled fewer government science positions than any other recent President, at the same point in time. Just 20 of the 83 positions designated by the National Academies of Sciences as “science appointees” had been filled.

In a letter to Senator Tom Udall, EPA misrepresented the findings of the Pesticide Program Dialogue Committee, in relation to the need to delay certain provisions of the Agricultural Worker Protection Standard.

The Federal Highway Administration’s “Sustainable Transport and Climate Change” program was renamed the “Sustainable Transportation and Resilience” program and several references to climate change were removed from its website.

DOE cancelled an ongoing project researching how tropical forests will respond to climate change. The study, which involved over 130 scientists, was launched in 2015 and due to continue until 2025, but will shut down 7 years early (in 2018).

EPA rewrote certain chemical rules against the advice of agency scientists who warned that the changes may result in an “underestimation of the [chemicals’] potential risks to human health and the environment”

DOI’s Office of Surface Mining directed the National Academy of Sciences to stop work on a study of potential health effects from mountaintop removal coal mining. DOI had previously committed $1 million for the study, but is now reconsidering its funding decision.

The White House Office of Management and Budget and Office of Science and Technology Policy jointly released a memorandum outlining the Trump administration’s research and development priorities. Unlike previous versions, issued during the Obama administration, the memorandum does not list climate change as a priority area.

References to “climate change” and links to climate-related documents, including an educational fact sheet on climate change and human health, were removed from the National Environmental Health Sciences website.

The Trump administration’s proposed FY2018 budget included $347 million in funding for climate and environmental research at DOD. This represents less than 1% of the amount requested by DOD and would result in cuts to several research programs.

The Trump administration’s FY2018 budget proposed a 10% cut funding in for the National Science Foundation (NSF)’s climate and environmental research programs. This is expected to lead to 800 fewer awards to universities and other institution in 2018 compared to 2017.

DOI froze the work of more than 200 advisory boards, committees, and subcommittees to enable it to review “the charter and charge of each committee.” DOI also allowed the charter of the Advisory Committee on Climate Change and Natural Resource Science to expire.

A page describing efforts to address climate change, and providing links to DOI and other federal resources on climate change and renewable energy, was removed from the Bureau of Land Management’s website.

Political appointees at DOI criticized a U.S Geological Survey press release, which described climate change as “dramatically” reducing the size of glaciers. One official described the statement as a “perfect example of [scientists] going outside their wheelhouse” and another indicated that “we need to watch for inflammatory [language] in their press releases.”

At a hearing of the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, Rep. Lamar Smith criticized climatologists, asserting that they often “operate outside the principles of the scientific method.” Rep. Smith also questioned the accuracy of climate projections, saying that constitute “[a]larmist predictions [that] amount to nothing more than wild guesses.”

In an interview on CNBC’s Squawk Box, EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt misrepresented climate science, suggesting that scientists have not established that greenhouse gas emissions are the primary cause of climate change.

The Badlands national park deleted four tweets, containing basic scientific facts about climate change, from its account. The tweets were reportedly posted by a former employee who was not authorized to use the park’s account.

Budget cuts resulted in NOAA rescinding four of the eight offers made to researchers to participate in the 2017 Climate and Global Change Postdoctoral Fellowship Program. As a result, fewer researchers participated in the 2017 program than in any other year since it was launched.

EPA’s “Climate Ready Water Utilities” program was renamed the “Creating Resilient Water Utilities” program and several references to “climate change” and “climate science” were removed from its website.

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